Has Anyone done it? Replace Steering wheel with Airbag
05-04-2006, 04:01 AM
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Has Anyone done it? Replace Steering wheel with Airbag
Hello,
I got the car! 1990 S2 cab, 53k. Flew to Minnesota and drove it 1200 miles back to VA.
Anyway, my knees could use a little breathing room. Has anyone replaced the steering wheel, retaining or loosing the airbag?
THanks,
Michael
I got the car! 1990 S2 cab, 53k. Flew to Minnesota and drove it 1200 miles back to VA.
Anyway, my knees could use a little breathing room. Has anyone replaced the steering wheel, retaining or loosing the airbag?
THanks,
Michael
05-05-2006, 02:06 AM
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I changed to the factory 968 CS non airbag wheel. I don't think it provides any more room but it does look and feel a lot nicer. There's some info on the swap in the Cosmetic section of my website. Others have installed Momo wheels with varying degrees of success, depending on if, or how you make the horn functional.
05-10-2006, 12:17 AM
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When I got my 944S2, I changed the airbag wheel from a totally worn out disaster to a newer (still used) OEM airbag wheel. It went totally fine. There is a description here on Rennlist for the airbag light reset procedure. Do a search for it.
In my rally car (celica GT4) - I replaced an airbag wheel with a Sparco race wheel and had to custom wire up a horn switch and now have a coiled wire getting power to said switch. Further - my hazards have never worked since. So, be warned - there could be a lot of circuity that you might disrupt if you remove the airbag. Study the Porsche wiring diagrams closely before you proceed. The standard copper ring and peg mechanism used on standard steering wheels might not apply. I can't recall how the 944 is set up - but in the Celica - the Sparco adaptor was "expecting" a copper peg to mate to the copper ring to transmit power to the switch - but the airbag wheel (which also had cruise control features in the steering wheel, had a very diffenent approach - with a concentrically wrapped flat cable in a circular housing - all of which I deleted.
Further - deletion of the airbag will trigger the warning light. In the rally car, a strip of electrical tape did the job (also oobscures the ABS ligght and seatbelt warning lights: I guess I should remove all those eh??). There is mention here on Rennlist of putting an "X" ohm resistor inline to fool the warning circuit into thinking there is in fact an airbag.
Lastly - there are legal as well as safety concerns to consider. Does the 944 had "force limiters" - I suspect not. But these are designed to limit the belt force you experience during a crash, and they act as an important part of an integrated system - the force limiters "ease" you into the expanding airbag. But if the airbag's gone - they release you into the steering wheel. Oops.
RK
In my rally car (celica GT4) - I replaced an airbag wheel with a Sparco race wheel and had to custom wire up a horn switch and now have a coiled wire getting power to said switch. Further - my hazards have never worked since. So, be warned - there could be a lot of circuity that you might disrupt if you remove the airbag. Study the Porsche wiring diagrams closely before you proceed. The standard copper ring and peg mechanism used on standard steering wheels might not apply. I can't recall how the 944 is set up - but in the Celica - the Sparco adaptor was "expecting" a copper peg to mate to the copper ring to transmit power to the switch - but the airbag wheel (which also had cruise control features in the steering wheel, had a very diffenent approach - with a concentrically wrapped flat cable in a circular housing - all of which I deleted.
Further - deletion of the airbag will trigger the warning light. In the rally car, a strip of electrical tape did the job (also oobscures the ABS ligght and seatbelt warning lights: I guess I should remove all those eh??). There is mention here on Rennlist of putting an "X" ohm resistor inline to fool the warning circuit into thinking there is in fact an airbag.
Lastly - there are legal as well as safety concerns to consider. Does the 944 had "force limiters" - I suspect not. But these are designed to limit the belt force you experience during a crash, and they act as an important part of an integrated system - the force limiters "ease" you into the expanding airbag. But if the airbag's gone - they release you into the steering wheel. Oops.
RK
05-21-2006, 05:57 PM
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You don't need to change the stearing wheel or seats to get more space! 
If youtake out the driver seat, there are some 12 mm spaceres underneath it, you can remove those and put it back in place as it is, that will give you more space without a lot of hassle!
Goodluck and enjoy you new car.
If youtake out the driver seat, there are some 12 mm spaceres underneath it, you can remove those and put it back in place as it is, that will give you more space without a lot of hassle!
Goodluck and enjoy you new car.
06-05-2006, 04:10 PM
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I think people might be missing the point of his post. He's asking for more KNEE room.
Lower the seat or moving it back will not accomplish this. The only solution is a smaller diameter wheel, or one which is moved closer to the driver.
I'm also curious what's involved, since I'm 6'-10", and it's safe to say that knee room in my car is, uh, rather compromised.
_Jeff
Lower the seat or moving it back will not accomplish this. The only solution is a smaller diameter wheel, or one which is moved closer to the driver.
I'm also curious what's involved, since I'm 6'-10", and it's safe to say that knee room in my car is, uh, rather compromised.
_Jeff
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07-03-2006, 07:48 AM
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A smaller steering wheel WILL help- I have the opposite problem, actually, but when I changed to my 350mm Momo wheel (350mm is standard size aftermarket & factory Porsche wheels were 380mm) than this actually reduced the radius of the wheel by 15mm (just over half an inch). Therefore, there is now >1/2" more knee room & the wheel is SOOO MUCH NICER to grip, etc... it's just a tiny bit of help, but it is something...
Also, you can go to even smaller wheels, but much smaller will look kind of funny... I think there are some Sparcos in the 330mm to 340mm that might work. Otherwise, going all the way down to 300mm Momo's, etc, might be a bit too small.. would just have to look around, but the 350 is a GREAT size & would give you a hair more room..
Also, lowering the seat WOULD help- if you lower the seat, or at least the front of the seat, by eliminating spacers, etc, then you'd be getting lower down under the wheel, so...
Also, you can go to even smaller wheels, but much smaller will look kind of funny... I think there are some Sparcos in the 330mm to 340mm that might work. Otherwise, going all the way down to 300mm Momo's, etc, might be a bit too small.. would just have to look around, but the 350 is a GREAT size & would give you a hair more room..
Also, lowering the seat WOULD help- if you lower the seat, or at least the front of the seat, by eliminating spacers, etc, then you'd be getting lower down under the wheel, so...
